Grab a blanket and a picnic dinner, and bring your family to hear FREE music in the park! Bring a Frisbee or a kite and join in the celebration! Presented by Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association with the generous support of Audio-Technica, Kulas Foundation, and the promotional support by WKSU 89.7 FM. Fun activities and games begin at 5:30 p.m. Concerts begin at 6:30. Howe Meadow. Unless otherwise noted, the rain location is Happy Days Visitor Center. Pre-concert activities are cancelled if raining.

Thursday, July 19
Cats on Holiday
Cats on Holiday is a hard rockin', swamp poppin' band that serves up a healthy dose of American influenced roots, country, cajun and blues tunes. Armed with an arsenal of well-crafted original (more) tunes and an eclectic blend of well-known songs, the six members of Cats on Holiday will have you dancing on the lawn. This event is held in conjunction with the All-American Soap Box Derby Family Day and will be held at Howe Meadow rain or shine.

Wednesday, August 1
Blonde Boy Grunt & the Groans
Ohio-based Blonde Boy Grunt & the Groans performs a mixture of folk, bluegrass, rock, and blues which a friend once referred to as "freight-train-folk-a-billy-bad-luck blues". Performing mostly originals, this fun energetic quartet mixes up the sets with adaptations of traditional songs and tunes by Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Woody Guthrie, and Johnny Cash.

Saturday, August 4
HeartBEAT Afrika
Experience HeartBEAT's style of percussion using trashcans, buckets, traditional African drums, conventional drum set and rhythms played by feet, body and hands. This ensemble performs a mixture of street percussion, traditional African percussion, song, story telling, theatre and dance. Bandleader and Kent State University alumnus Olugbala Manns was exposed to traditional African drums and culture at a young age by his father Baba David Coleman, a pioneer in preserving traditional African music in America. Olu joined talents with dancer Elec Simon to form HeartBEAT. Elec, a tap dancer by nature, has performed in the national percussion show STOMP and has worked with numerous tap dance greats. This event is held in conjunction with the Get Up, Get Out & Go! summer program finale. This concert will be held at Howe Meadow rain or shine.

Friday, August 31
Desert, Forest, Tundra
Part of a collaboration with Alaskan composer, John Luther Adams, this installment of Desert, Forest, Tundra will be performed by the Akros Percussion Collective under the direction of Gustavo Aguilar. Aquilar is known locally for his widely acclaimed work as music director with David Shimotakahara’s GroundWorks Dancetheater. This unique style of percussion combines drumming, roaring gongs and brilliant noise-melodies presented in natural landscape that the listener may no longer perceive the same.

Howe Meadow is located at 4040 Riverview Road in Cuyahoga Falls. Happy Days Visitor Center is located on 500 W. Streetsboro Road (SR 303), 1 mile west of SR 8 in Peninsula.

CVNPA, in partnership with the National Park Service and Cuyahoga Valley National Park, provides innovative education programs and fosters community awareness, support, and enjoyment of the park. For more information about CVNPA and its membership program, visit www.cvnpa.org or call (330) 657-2909.

CVNP encompasses 33,000 acres along the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. Managed by the National Park Service, CVNP combines cultural, historical, recreational, and natural activities in one setting. For more information visit www.nps.gov/cuva/ or www.dayinthevalley.com or call (216) 524-1497 or (800) 445-9667.